Snow VP
12-28-2005, 10:16 PM
Rain - Freezing rain & Sleet, but no new snow has been the story of the past few days. How is the snow? Taking a beating that is for sure. The amount of grass now showing in the St. Ignace area is amazing. We have gotten steady temps just above freezing for the last 2 days, however, it seems like that the actual melting has been slow.
I finally talked to a driver today, and to my amazement he told me not only are the trails ridable, but people are riding. There are some problem areas however. Overall the whole trail system has between 4 & 8 inches of packed wet snow on the trail. In most cases it is only 8 feet wide, exactly where the groomer has been running, outside of that, mostly weeds. We figure the groomer drove the frost down on the main trail, and that is holding the snow better than surrounding areas. The snow that is there is very processed, wet, and quite smooth, but remember relatively thin.
PROBLEM AREAS
- St. Ignace, all trails mostly bare, trail from town to the I-75 overpass is in tough shape, but as soon as you hit I-75 and head North it is ridable.
- RR grade from Castle Rock Rd to Moran, several very thin areas
- Pipeline (all area) main trail surface is bare here, however it is possible to get off the main trail to find a bit of snow.
- Carp River Truck Trail generally OK, but sleds are ripping up the corners, the groomer is trying to keep up.
The groomer has been running on certain sections of the trail, and Dave is out as I type. He wants to get a few problem areas fixed before a hard freeze, which may be this weekend. They are calling for a couple of inches of snow over the weekend, which will help, but we need a good foot to be in great shape.
To sum up, most trails are ridable, but thin. Good conditions for the amount of snow we have.
I finally talked to a driver today, and to my amazement he told me not only are the trails ridable, but people are riding. There are some problem areas however. Overall the whole trail system has between 4 & 8 inches of packed wet snow on the trail. In most cases it is only 8 feet wide, exactly where the groomer has been running, outside of that, mostly weeds. We figure the groomer drove the frost down on the main trail, and that is holding the snow better than surrounding areas. The snow that is there is very processed, wet, and quite smooth, but remember relatively thin.
PROBLEM AREAS
- St. Ignace, all trails mostly bare, trail from town to the I-75 overpass is in tough shape, but as soon as you hit I-75 and head North it is ridable.
- RR grade from Castle Rock Rd to Moran, several very thin areas
- Pipeline (all area) main trail surface is bare here, however it is possible to get off the main trail to find a bit of snow.
- Carp River Truck Trail generally OK, but sleds are ripping up the corners, the groomer is trying to keep up.
The groomer has been running on certain sections of the trail, and Dave is out as I type. He wants to get a few problem areas fixed before a hard freeze, which may be this weekend. They are calling for a couple of inches of snow over the weekend, which will help, but we need a good foot to be in great shape.
To sum up, most trails are ridable, but thin. Good conditions for the amount of snow we have.